Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a small pond that I want to put a turtle in during the summer. The pond is about 3.5'x 2.5' and about 16" deep, with a shelf for the turtle to bask on. I've had red ears and painteds before, but I'm looking for something less common. Some turtles I'm thinking about are: a Nicaraguan slider, a reeves turtle, a Central American wood turtle(Rhinoclemmys p. manni), or a black wood turtle(Rhinoclemmys funerea). Which of these do you recomend? And are Central American wood turtles mostly aquatic? I've been reading caresheets and some say they are, some say they aren't.

Where do you live? Is the pond in an enclosure where the turtle can get in and out easily and roam a part of the yard, or is the pond itself escape-proof? Central American woods are semi-aquatic - they like land and water.

Katrina

I live in south eastern Pennsylvania, so I have to bring the turtle inside during the winter. The pond is actually a little over 2' deep, but I only put 16" of water in so the water is about 10" below the rim of the pond.

Central American wood turtles are perhaps one of the more aquatic wood turtle species but that does not mean that they are not terrestrial in nature. They do like to come up on land, walk around on land. They are also able to eat on land (unlike most of the truly aquatic species.

What you have described as your pond set up is really not suitable for this specie. It would need more than a shelf to come up and bask on. I would go for more aquatic species and avoid the wood turtles with the setup that you are describing.

Yeah, I did some more research and found out the pond wouldn't work for wood turtles, but I like them the most, so I might just put some koi in the pond and make another enclosure for the turtle. The reason I want a wood turtle is that I've heard that they can recognize you and may even follow you around. Is this true? Which of the four turtles I mentioned makes the best pet?

They do have great personalities. Like a tortoise sort of.

I have always been partial to the Central American wood turtle. They are just so beautiful.

rp manni supposedly are not semi aquatic...did i met says he saw them in the wold and they were not in any water

i keep a pair indoors with lots of cover and a tub, they love the water. sio i dunno...they seem pretty ok with it, my female just nested one egg.

if the pond is deep, they're no good asa far as intense swimming. they're waders, walking in water.

go for a pond turtle species, not a Rhinoclemmys. and you say just for the summer? what you gonna do with it later??

I live in southern Pennsylvania, so I'd probably have to keep it inside from September till around May. I might just put some fish in the pond and make another enclosure to put a wood turtle in, but I have a couple questions about the C.A. woods. Do they sit around in their shell most of the time like tortoises and box turtles, or are they more active, like water turtles? And you said that they just wade in shallow water, would they be okay in water thats about as deep as the length of their shell?

My pair are very active, personally I believe they should never be one alone but two in a M/F pair. The behaviors you will see are really neat. Courtship is interesting. My male was not very active until I got my female Jessie, he's been a happy man ever since and hopefully they'll be mom and dad in 3-4 mos.
their water tub is about 4" deep or so, they seem to do fine in it. They're just not strong swimmers like sliders and their like. Ya gotta feed them fresh food, live earthworms and bugs...lots of fun. heh
Oh and they CAN CLIMB, so you have to build an escape proof enclosure. Never underestimate a turtle hehe